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ADB urges Sri Lanka to speed up capital markets development

Nov 23, 2017 15:36 PM GMT+0530 | 0 Comment(s)

ECONOMYNEXT – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has urged Sri Lanka to speed up its capital markets development program to enhance economic growth and also pledged more support for infrastructure.

The pledge was given by visiting ADB Vice President Wencai Zhang during a meeting with President Maithripala Sirisena, a statement said.

“Zhang emphasized the need for speeding up the capital market development to enhance economic growth,” it said.

“The ADB Vice President underscored the importance of Sri Lanka's infrastructure development financing mechanism and added that ADB would provide assistance to infrastructure development.”

The statement quoted Zhang as saying the ADB would extend fullest support to the economic development plans initiated by the government of President Maithripala Sirisena.

Zhang called on President Sirisena to discuss the Country Partnership Strategy for development assistance for the period 2018-22 for which the ADB has allocated US $ 4 to 5 billion for Sri Lanka.

Sirisena briefed the ADB delegation about the economic development policies with special emphasis on poverty alleviation and Grama Shakthi people's movement and urged the ADB to extend support to these initiatives, to which Zhang readily agreed.

The ADB has provided assistance worth US$ 9 billion in the past 50 years.
(Colombo/Nov23/2017)